Growth and Development

More people than ever need opportunities that rural America can provide. It's up to those who love those communities to welcome the next generations of rural Americans.

Stacey Cox, the new director of the National Center for Frontier Communities, wants to focus on building resilience and delivering resources. Frontier regions constitute nearly half of the nation's land area but only 2 percent of its…

A holistic approach to community development means looking beyond strict economics to other factors that sustain rural communities.

Rural communities cannot thrive when addiction eats away at their foundations, says Kentucky’s state director of USDA Rural Development.

People and relationships may be some of the biggest assets of small cities and rural areas. The Federal Reserve Bank of Boston is looking for ways to help communities build stronger economies based on these strengths.

Will rural America gain population in the next Census? Part of that depends on how well rural people get counted. With billions of dollars and political representation on the line, rural places have a lot of reasons to prepare for the 2020…

Rural communities lack assets, not opportunities, say participants in a national forum. Groups like the Brookings Institution that argue for metropolitan-only investment strategies ignore the economic and social realities of contemporary…

Rural America isn’t alone in dealing with issues like economic inequality, outmigration, resource extraction, and Indigenous peoples’ rights. A biennial international conference this fall will bring together leaders from the U.S. and other…

Climate-related flooding isn’t just a phenomenon in coastal areas. In the small rural town of Duck Hill, Mississippi, strong storms with intense rainfall often caused flooding as high as 15 inches. In 2017, Duck Hill residents and outside…